The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread

[Irene_A]

Organic, I meant that between meals we use fat and not carbs or proteins to get energy and they provide more energy than carbs, not that calories from fat "last" more.

 

[Velony]

^Same here, which is equally annoying. Also annoying is when people tell me things like, "Just have a bite of (insert meat here)! It won't hurt!"

ha, i know exactly what you mean. sometimes i'm just not sure if they don't understand or don't want to understand.

 

[Deleted member 36123]

Does anyone have a simple tasty recipe that is made up mostly of brown rice and veggies? I'm thinking it would be yummy with soy sauce or something as well.

 

[misssakura]

I like chili con carne on brown rice personally. But then i'm a sucker for tomato + bean recipes.

 

[missbliss]

Did you know that the Buddhist vegetarian diet does permit the eating of oysters? Oyster sauce is very prevalent in asain cooking, as is soy. I'm guessing they also eat other seafood also. Just found that kinda interesting.

Anyway, today I realized I was in a dilema. I've been a vegetarian for quite some time now & have developed a skin disorder on the back of my left elbow called eczema. I'm to cut out such foods now as citrus, soy, dairy, fish, peanuts, wheat, & eggs! The reason is because I may have an allergic reaction to one or a combination of these foods that it's causing my situation to worsen. I'm doing this until I'm able to run allergy tests, which are costly & take awhile to get results back. My problem is I'm a vegetarian & that leaves me very little left to eat. I thought this would be a good chance to see if I could handle veganism, but when I went to the supermarket today I realized that most vegan meats etc are soy based so for the moment I've decided to try a raw food diet, hopefully it won't be too hard. I'm just worried about getting enough nutrients etc. What will I eat for protein though?? I'd really appreaciate any help.

 

[misssakura]

Wait, so you can't eat brown rice, quinoa, kidney beans, pinto beans etc?

 

[missbliss]

Wait, so you can't eat brown rice, quinoa, kidney beans, pinto beans etc?

Nope, those are actually just fine. I went to the grocery store & picked up some brown rice & dryed kidney beans (to avoid all that salt in the prepackaged canned beans). Todays my first day on this "new diet" & I'm finding it kinda boring. I guess I took soy for granted & now it stinks I can't have it. Also dairy products were sort of a daily thing for me, it's upsetting. I just hope the allergy tests don't turn up that I'm allergic to these things; otherwise it'd make eveything so much harder on me.

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

*points to a page or two back*

Mmm...banana bread...

Thanks for clearing up the energy thing, Irene. I should stock up on things with good fat like almonds and eat them with my lunch.

 

[misssakura]

Nope, those are actually just fine. I went to the grocery store & picked up some brown rice & dryed kidney beans (to avoid all that salt in the prepackaged canned beans). Todays my first day on this "new diet" & I'm finding it kinda boring. I guess I took soy for granted & now it stinks I can't have it. Also dairy products were sort of a daily thing for me, it's upsetting. I just hope the allergy tests don't turn up that I'm allergic to these things; otherwise it'd make eveything so much harder on me.

Well I hope at least you have a food processor because then you have a lot more control over what you eat. You can make really tasty veggie 'steaks' (for lack of a better word) and your own dressings (like basil pesto), yummy soups....several companies make gluten free products maybe you can try a few of those? And I'm sure you're drinking loads of water. Oh, smoothies are good too. Are you also washing your sheets in plain water? Not using any products? You've made sure there is little or no dust around the house (as well as beating out the mattress?). I know how hard elimination diets suck. I established that dairy and corn chips give me an upset stomach. That's why I'm suffering tonight. Damn you tasty food

 

[Deleted member 36123]

Nope, those are actually just fine. I went to the grocery store & picked up some brown rice & dryed kidney beans (to avoid all that salt in the prepackaged canned beans). Todays my first day on this "new diet" & I'm finding it kinda boring. I guess I took soy for granted & now it stinks I can't have it. Also dairy products were sort of a daily thing for me, it's upsetting. I just hope the allergy tests don't turn up that I'm allergic to these things; otherwise it'd make eveything so much harder on me.

Aww You poor thing I really hope you don't turn out to be allergic to those foods either! I went on an elimination diet a few years ago and I found out that highly processed foods make my skin really irritated I know the diet seems really hard but stick with it and let us keep our fingers crossed about the results

 

[marsmars]

ha, i know exactly what you mean. sometimes i'm just not sure if they don't understand or don't want to understand.

I am so tired of both being asked, "do you eat fish[/eggs or chicken]?" After telling people I am a vegetarian.

Even now, I just get annoyed thinking about it.

I just want to hit them sometimes. A really good smack right across the face is what [insert person] needs.

...

PS: I know this person who calls himself a vegetarian but then will eat cookies at parties that he knows have eggs in them. I remember almost saying something really rude. Most of the time I just let them have it. I don't give idiots a chance.

If you're a vegetarian, you don't eat MEAT. Stop complicating it! No eggs, no fish, no meat!

Okay. I'm done getting riled over this.

 

[seanutbutter]

PS: I know this person who calls himself a vegetarian but then will eat cookies at parties that he knows have eggs in them. I remember almost saying something really rude. Most of the time I just let them have it. I don't give idiots a chance.

If you're a vegetarian, you don't eat MEAT. Stop complicating it! No eggs, no fish, no meat!

Vegetarians can eat dairy, although that would make them a lacto-ovo vegetarian. The majority of vegetarians eat dairy, so most automatically assume that if you're a vegetarian, you eat dairy.*

*Before any of you get on my back--yes, I know that if you eat dairy, you're technically a lacto-ovo vegetarian, not a full "vegetarian."

 

[marsmars]

I eat milk/dairy. I don't eat eggs. Eggs don't count as dairy to me. Eggs are liqueified babies! It's meat, whether it is fertilized or not, it was going to become, or already was a baby that was mean to hatch into the world. All liquified on a piece of toast. Not for me. No thank you.

And what separates vegans from vegetarians is the fact that vegetarians freely consume milk. Vegans don't consume milk or butter or anything like that.

If you're a vegetarian that eats eggs, I simply won't call you a vegetarian. You eat meat, get over it. Same for fish. No ifs, ands, or buts, you can't have one foot in and one foot out.

 

[missbliss]

Thanks everyone for your help & recommendations!! I actually researched some recipes & found some that sound pretty yummy. Like lettuce wraps with beans & veggies + tons of dips. I like mixing avocado with some lemon & using it as a sauce also. Maybe it won't be so bad afterall! & yes misssakura, I've been careful with my sheets & fabrics. I'm actually using a special detergent that's unscented for people with sensitive skin. As far as I know people suffering from Eczema usually don't have it past age 25, I'm at 22 so atleast it won't be for too long...I hope.

 

[marsmars]

^sounds yummy.

I remember there was a biodegradable 100% natural detergent that Whole Foods was selling, I forget the name of the brand... Otherwise I would post it. They also sell toilet paper and facial tissues if you really want to get into it. Really good stuff for sensitive people (like myself).

 

[ibimus]

PF Chang's is delicious!
I love their cold cucumber appetizer. Sooo good. A plate of that with some tofu and tea. Yum!

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

A lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy and eggs. "Ovo" means eggs and eggs are not considered dairy. In western society a lacto-ovo vegetarian is considered a vegetarian (and when the term "vegetarian" is used, lacto-ovo vegetarian is assumed), just as how in Japan someone who eats fish but no other meat can be considered a vegetarian. I respect all views on whether it is right to eat eggs, my personal view is that eating unfertilized eggs is not wrong, though I tend to avoid them because I don't like the taste. However, if you want to argue against dictionaries and all of western society and say that I'm not a vegetarian because I will allow eggs in my diet you are clearly wrong. That's like me saying that you're not a vegetarian because you consume dairy, for whatever reasons such as the way cows are milked is unethical and that milk was meant for a baby cow, not for you.

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

Also, eggs are a tissue but not generally considered to be meat. I would put them in the same category as blood, also a tissue (circulatory/connective).

 

[misssakura]

I do believe that hens are NOT food making factories for us. Eggs are to make baby chickens. HOWEVER...

After 2-300 years of intensive factory farming it is no longer purely an instinct to lay eggs to make babies. A lot of the time if you let the hen have her eggs she wanders further and further away from home to lay them, so taking away the egg is often used as a method of keeping the hen in the farm but allowing them to roam free.

I've personally cracked open an egg and it had a dead rotting chick inside - not a nice experience. And I find that 95% of my cooking can be done without egg. People consume FAR too much egg.

But I'm a chicken lover and I've grown up around them eating fertilized eggs and honestly...you can't let every egg hatch. Chickens just aren't made the way they used to be due to selective breeding :/ So if you keep your own chickens you're faced with either destroying the egg or eating it.

So from my point of view yes I will eat eggs but rarely and only from small farms I know and trust, because I know how they deal with chickens ...

That was a very incoherent post, VERY, so I leave you with a picture of the village chicken before she went off to lay eggs in the woods and got eaten by a fox.

Cocotte, you are missed you crazy girl. I wish everybody could get to know a chicken in the way I did - then nobody would eat or abuse these beautiful intellignt creatures. And they are both of those things in spades. Well some are uglier than others - that's just life. No species is full of supermodels.

 

[TheKiwi]

I saw something yesterday that made me want to become a vegetarian (or pescarian?). I'm seriously considering it now!

I never really ate that much meat before. I'd basically only eat chicken, turkey, and fish. I also eat eggs rarely (except for when they're used in cooking) and dairy products a few times a week (I usually drink soy or rice milk). Now I'm going to try elliminating the chicken and turkey, and just eat fish as my only meat. I'm also going to try cutting back on eggs and dairy too (unless they are locally produced). This is because I have so much sympathy for the animals after seeing a movie yesterday. It just hit me how sad their lives are, and how I don't want to be a part of their terrible lives by consuming them anymore. I feel like only buying locally raised animal products rarely is going to be a little better, because the living conditions are most likely better for the animals. I'm only going to buy these kinds of products from local mom and pop type natural/organic food stores.

Wish me luck!